People and Place
Throughout the history of civilisation, the public realm - the
spaces between buildings - has been a focal point for public life.
The squares, promenades, streets, lanes, markets and riversides of
our city and town centres are where people have always gathered to
look at and meet others, to demonstrate and campaign, to barter and
trade, to play, to parade, to celebrate and to share their
grief.
The public realm can offer spaces for fun, entertainment and
social interaction and quiet areas for those who value solitude and
contemplation.
Public space is open and free to use. It provides an essential
opportunity for all parts of society, for the familiar and the
foreign, to mingle and connect.
Over the past century, the increasing dominance of the motor car
has done much to damage the character and quality of public space
and public life in cities and towns across the world. In Bath's
case, accommodating the car within the city centre has been a
particularly uncomfortable experience due to local topography and
narrow medieval and Georgian streets.
Elsewhere in Europe pioneering cities, such as Copenhagen in
Denmark and Freyburg in Germany, have done much in recent decades
to reverse the hierarchy of car and pedestrian and to put people
and sense of place right at the heart of urban life.
The economic success, popularity and increased wellbeing that
these and other cities have subsequently experienced provide
inspiration and guidance when considering the future of Bath's city
centre and when planning new areas of development within the
city.
The following proposals explore a range of options and plans for
Bath's riverside, for transport and movement within the city and
for an enhanced public realm.
During 2006, the Council worked with a leading national firm of
urban designers, City ID, to
translate the concepts behind the Future for Bath Vision into a
framework for a place-making strategy for Bath.
This work highlighted the opportunity to use Bath’s unique
character to guide the future design and development of the city’s
public realm. The place-making framework will be developed into a
full Public Realm and Movement Strategy during 2007.